


Unable to Sleep

by oceansgrey



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 17:42:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17268551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceansgrey/pseuds/oceansgrey
Summary: Itachi just wants to go to sleep, but Kisame snores.





	Unable to Sleep

Some nights, Itachi preferred when they slept outside, while one slept and the other kept watch. The rare chances that allowed for Kisame and Itachi to sleep in an inn or in their room at one of the Akatsuki hideouts had always been welcomed, but also came with a small price.

The price being a decent night’s sleep.

The bright red numbers of the alarm clock on the inn bedside table seemed to mock him for being up at four in the morning, about three hours before he and Kisame needed to actually wake and get ready to meet back up with Deidara and Sasori.

Sleep usually evaded him, anyway. Falling asleep brought fond or dark memories. When he first joined years ago, shortly after the massacre, he would sometimes thrash about in a fit of nightmares, the faces of his dead family flashing before his eyes. Some nights, he dreamt of the times he played in the Nakano River with Shisui and Sasuke, splashing about in the scorching Konoha heat. It was winter in the Land of Water, a chill that seemed to sink deep into his bones.

Itachi was tired. He managed to get at least a few hours of sleep in, nearly collapsing into bed after showering. Kisame must have joined him afterwards, because when Itachi woke, he felt the man pressed up against his back, a strong arm curled around him. It felt nice, the warm hand resting above his heart, feeling safe and secure after a long mission.

Silence would have been appreciated, though.

Almost without fail, after a few hours of peaceful, silent, sleep, Kisame would begin to snore incredibly loudly. Hidan once complained about it on a rare occasion that the whole Akatsuki resided in the Amegakure base. He remembered the Jashinist pounding on their door at two in the morning, screaming about making a certain shark man an offering to Lord Jashin.

He’d rather be partnered with anyone else, if it meant that he could get a few hours of quiet sleep.

He’d even accept being partnered with Deidara.

Maybe he should have purchased those ear plugs he saw earlier when they had stopped to stock up on supplies.

Kisame was now loudly snoring into his ear, his breath hot against Itachi’s neck. His snoring was enough that he could feel it shake the bed slightly, every draw of breath loud and impossible to ignore.

Itachi probably had not had a proper night’s sleep since before the massacre. Sleep had always been spotty since he joined the Akatsuki, and even more since he was partnered with Kisame.

The two had recently discovered their feelings for each other the year prior, shortly after his nineteenth birthday, when they both had gotten injured during a mission. Itachi remembered Kisame taking a blow that was meant for him before he blacked out from overusing the Sharingan. He had awoken a few days later, wounds dressed in one of the Akatsuki bases, Kisame sleeping in the chair next to his bed, holding his hand tightly. Itachi realized, then and there, that he loved him. He loved Kisame unconditionally and was thankful that his feelings were returned after he confessed shortly after Kisame woke up.

That being said, he really hated being woken up due to his snoring.

“Kisame,” he whispered, turning slightly to peer over his shoulder. Kisame’s face was relaxed as he slept, and if Itachi looked closely, he could see his facial gills flutter slightly with every intake of breath. He was so breathtakingly handsome, even though Kisame himself didn’t believe it. Itachi felt a warmth in his chest when he saw his partner, a hint of a smile on his face.

Until Kisame took in a deep breath, snoring loudly in his face.

“Kisame,” he hissed again, nudging his elbow into his ribs. “Kisame, wake up,”

“Huh?” Kisame gasped, the hand that was once on Itachi coming up to rub at his eyes. “What’s wrong? Do we need to leave?”

“No,” Itachi huffed, turning to face his partner. “You’re snoring too loud,”

“’m sorry,” Kisame mumbled, shifting to lay on his back. “I’m not snoring,”

“Yes, you are,” Itachi said, glaring accusingly at him. “I can’t sleep,”

Kisame closed his eyes again, inhaling deeply. Itachi watched him for a few minutes, watching him fall back asleep.

After a few minutes of silence, Itachi laid back down. He rested his head on Kisame’s chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heart. His eyes felt so dry and tired from overusing the Sharingan earlier and being able to rest them was blissful.

He let his eyes fall shut, focusing on the beat beneath his ear. He let himself smile, pulling the blanket up over his shoulders as he cuddled up closer to fall asleep.

At least he would have if Kisame had not continued to snore, even louder now that he was on his back.

 _Murdering your teammate isn’t frowned upon_ , Itachi reminded himself. Kakuzu himself had gone through at least four teammates before winding up with Hidan, since his partners always ended up “accidentally” running into his destructive jutsus.

Itachi sighed, shaking his head. He could never kill Kisame.

He was just so tired.

Due to his insomnia and the mission they had just completely, Itachi hadn’t slept for more than what seemed like twenty or thirty minutes in the past three days. The exhaustion was starting to affect his performance, and on top of being sick, he just wanted to get more than an hour’s worth of sleep.

When Kisame let out an incredibly loud snore, Itachi decided that he had had enough.

“Kisame!” he raised his voice, sitting up. He allowed himself to reactivate the Sharingan, red eyes glaring down at his partner.

Kisame mumbled something, slowly blinking open his eyes. “Itachi?”

“If you don’t stop snoring, I will not hesitate to put you in Tsukuyomi,” Itachi threatened, causing Kisame to instantly wake up. “I’m exhausted. I want to go to sleep. I can’t sleep if you’re snoring,”

“Okay, okay,” Kisame said, his voice still heavy with sleep. “I promise, my little crow,”

Kisame placed a warm hand on his shoulder, gently guiding his partner to lay back down on his chest. Itachi let out a sigh as he laid back down. He deactivated the Sharingan, letting his eyes fall shut. Kisame placed one of his hands onto the middle of his back, rubbing small circles into the sore muscles there.

It took nearly a half an hour, but Itachi finally fell asleep. Kisame looked down at him, smiling upon seeing Itachi’s relaxed face. The deep and steady breathing that came with Itachi’s sleep helped calm him down.

Being startled awake and threatened by the clan slayer was not his ideal way to wake up, but any day Kisame got to wake up and see Itachi was a good day.

Kisame glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. They needed to meet with Deidara and Sasori in two hours, and the meeting place was roughly a half an hour away.

The sun had begun to rise, the light starting to stream into the room.

Glancing back down at Itachi, now drooling slightly into Kisame’s shirt as he slept calmly for the first time in a few days, Kisame decided that Deidara and Sasori could wait an hour or two.

Pressing a small kiss to the top of his head, Kisame let himself fall back asleep, holding Itachi close.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by my loving boyfriend, who snores so loud that it keeps me up, and I can't sleep.


End file.
